Law Schools, Sexism, Women's Issues

The Pink Ghetto: Law School Is A Breeding Ground For Sexism

Sadly, women are often subjected to sexist behavior from both male students and professors during their time in law school.

By  
on

worried woman summer associateWelcome back to The Pink Ghetto, a series where we take a look at some of the most appalling stories from one of the most sexist industries in the world: the legal profession. Today, we’ll take a look at the sexist behavior that women are often subjected to during their time in law school. These are real emails that we’ve received from real readers.

When you see things like this happening, say something. Together, we can inspire the change necessary to stop this disturbing behavior from being so prevalent in the law.

I was interviewing for a full scholarship at a top 20 law school and walked in dressed professionally, in a navy dress and nude heels. I was being interviewed by the law school’s Dean of Admissions, and a female alumnus from the firm whose office was hosting the interviews. After some brief introductions, the Dean opened up his line of questioning with, “So, what inspired you to go to law school? Legally Blonde?” Not knowing what to do, I just laughed it off and moved on, and the female partner didn’t even wince at the question. I got the scholarship… but chose to go elsewhere.

I am a third-year law student, hold a high-ranking position on law review, and have a clerkship and Biglaw job lined up for after graduation. One of my colleagues (a top 5 student), after hearing about my success at OCI, said that I was lucky to be a woman because it gave me a leg up with firms looking for “diversity.” He was dismayed that his female colleagues killed it at OCI, while he only scraped up a few callback interviews.

I am a first-year law student at a Top 50 law school. At the beginning of the year, one of my professors lectured the class about the formation of study groups. He told us that the best study groups don’t have very many female students in them. When he saw the shocked looks on our faces, he dug himself into an even deeper hole, explaining that study groups with a lot of women tend to get off track because all they do is gossip about their classmates and talk about shopping. I could not believe he said these things to the entire class. It was incredibly insulting.

Sponsored

A professor told a female student she would not amount to anything because she was a “girl.” The professor went on to become Dean of the law school and works there to this day. However, the female student went on to become the state Attorney General and Governor.

And they wonder why she won’t have anything to do with the school.

I’m a 2L in California. I’m mixed race (half black/half white), and I wear my hair in neat dreadlocks. I look, dress, and act very professionally, but one of my professors has harassed me for two years now because of the way I wear my hair. He’s told me numerous times that I’ll be unemployable until I “stop wearing those disgusting braids.” One of my male classmates wears his hair in dreads, and this professor has never said a word to him about it.

I’ve complained to several deans about this problem, and so far, nothing meaningful has been done. Someone from career services said that he saw where the professor was coming from, because my dreads make me look “aggressive,” “unkempt,” and “unapproachable.” I asked my male classmate if anyone from career services had ever told him to do something about his hair before going on interviews — he said no one had.

The career services employee suggested that I take a look at how some of my white classmates wear their hair to get a sense of what’s more aesthetically pleasing for hiring partners, who are typically white males. The way I wear my hair shouldn’t restrict my job opportunities just because I’m a woman.

Sponsored

Do you have a law school or law firm story you’d like to see appear in The Pink Ghetto? Please email me with “The Pink Ghetto” in the subject line (or find me on Twitter: @StaciZaretsky). You will be kept anonymous. Submissions are always welcome!

Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Topics

, , , , , ,